Docker Machine Deployment on VM Fusion, vSphere and vCloud Air

As Kit mentioned in his earlier post, today in Amsterdam, we’re showing off drivers for VMware Fusion, vSphere and vCloud Air that’ll make it easy for our customers to deploy and manage Docker hosts in local and hybrid cloud environments. We’ve seen requests on GitHub to simplify this process, so we’ve put together a quick preview of a solution that we’re happy to talk about in more depth here.

We’ve bundled Docker Machine support for Fusion, vSphere and vCloud Air into a single package for download, though you can choose between Linux or Mac OS X installations. The only thing you’ll need is an existing installation of VMware Fusion, vSphere, or a vCloud Air subscription – one of these is sufficient. The drivers can be downloaded from GitHub, complete with all the instructions you need to get started. If you’re interested in following the drivers’ development you can watch this PR on GitHub.

If you’re already on any of the above-mentioned VMware platforms, the drivers we’re releasing today provide the fastest way to try out Docker and see whether a container-based delivery model suits your needs. You won’t need to noodle around with certificates, permissions, or a mess of settings just to test out containers. (Side Note: if you don’t have Fusion, and you happen to be at DockerCon Europe this week, come see us! We can get you set up for free.)

Since these drivers are a work in progress – they’re a preview of our projects, not a production-ready solution – we’re seeking your input on how we can make them better. Your opinions are invaluable to our growing efforts here at Cloud-Native Apps – especially in our early days – and help us better understand how we can make your lives easier as both developers and ops engineers. You can reach us anytime by commenting below, emailing us directly at microservices@vmware.com, or on Twitter at @cloudnativeapps.

About the Author: Fabio is a seasoned IT professional with over 15 years of experience, and a background as a software developer. He currently sits on the edge between Dev and Ops, helping both reach nirvana.